Storebøra and Sollidhornet, Aug 6 2017

A nice visit to Vanylven

Some time ago, I discovered that I had not been to Sollidhornet in Vanylven. It’s not one of the “primary peaks” (primary factor >= 100m) but nevertheless I planned to go there one not so sunny day (those days are reserved for higher peaks).

Early in August 2017, opportunity knocked on my door. Anne had a bad knee but wanted to do some walking. So I suggested that we could go to Storebøra – the highest top on the peninsula north of Fiskå. Then I could stop by Sollidhornet on the way back to the car.

Waiting for the ferry across Rovdefjorden

We took the ferry across Rovdefjorden, drove to Rovde and then up the mountain road (toll) to lake Børevatnet. The map suggested that we should find a path here, but we didn’t see any. We stopped by the nearest cabin and asked the owner where the path was. He told us it was below water!

The good news was that the path “surfaced” further up the lake, and it didn’t take long before we were on it.

By lake Børevatnet, with Storebøra hidden in fog

The path led us to a fork south of Synste Koppevatnet. We went to the left here and followed a marked path that led us to lake Strandavatnet – at the foothills of Storebøra. 2,3km along easy terrain so far. But now we were in for a steep ascent, and into the fog.

A steep hike to Storebøra

This wasn’t the terrain Anne had hoped for, but now that she was here, she decided to make it to the top. Although there was a marked route here, it would be a stretch to call it a path. It didn’t help that it was slippery after rain, and heading into the fog didn’t raise the spirit.

Karma, keeping the family together…

But with fog, you never know. Sometimes you get over it. Literally. And when we approached the summit, we could see glimpse of blue sky. And when we reached the summit cairn, we could see quite a bit of the terrain to the south. Bonus!

After a short stay on top, we descended down to Strandavatnet, where Anne had planned to pick cloudberry while Karma and I visited Sollidhornet.

Descending Storebøra

Karma and I took a direct (off-trail) route up to the pass south of the top, and then up the south ridge. Check!

Børevatnet and Strandavatnet seen from Sollidhornet

Next, we descended directly down to the building by Synste Koppevatnet, and then went over to the path where we waited for Anne. We didn’t have to wait long before she came. Tonight’s dessert was now in the bag. Again, literally.

Upon reaching the car, I took a good look around, to make sure I hadn’t missed any more tops up here. I hadn’t. It was a nice 9,5km hike, with 600 vertical meters in total.